Daily Fantasy Football Week 8 DSTs Flying Under the Radar

It’s amazing how much a DST can score in a week randomly. In GPP formats, it can be a huge killer in your chances at winning big money if you don’t have that unit in your lineup. Here, I’m going to give you the DSTs you want to include when making several lineups.

Obvious, but just in case if you’re still unaware

Chiefs – They are 7-point favorites at home against the Rams. Gusty winds are expected against the 26th-ranked team in turnover margin that plays indoors at home. The Chiefs are ninth in sacks, and they have especially played better as of late after an injury-filled Week 1 and going against the Broncos in Week 2.

Jets – Very cheap option on both FanDuel and DraftKings. They are 3-point favorites at home against a team with a banged-up backfield and a nonmobile QB who struggled against the Vikings until the end of the game last week. The O/U is also only 40.5.

Dolphins – The Jaguars make this matchup self-explanatory, but the Dolphins defense is a fantastic unit. They’ve been in double digits in four out of six weeks, had one bad week at Buffalo and obviously struggled some against Green Bay. This will get a ton of plays, but it’s more of a wake-up call to Miami in general.

Oh yeah, I forgot about them

Seahawks – What was by far the best defense in the NFL last year seems to be mediocre at best now. So, why would I take this unit on the road? Well, they won’t be used much. Seattle is now -5 after opening at -3 with an O/U of 44.5. Carolina has been a mess, especially on defense. If Seattle gets an early lead, that allows Pete Carroll to dial up a lot of his complex zone blitzes.

Texans – Their secondary hasn’t been great this year. However, they are -3 against a rookie non-mobile QB, and Jadeveon Clowney comes back to help an already dangerous pass rush with J.J. Watt. The upside here is outstanding.

Bengals – Yes, the Bengals defense has been struggling. But take a step back and think about this logically. Their last three games they faced the Patriots (in New England on Sunday night with a pissed off Tom Brady after their embarrassing loss to Kansas City), Carolina (first game Cam Newton actually started running which hurt their original game plan) and at Indianapolis (arguably second-best offense). Now realize that the Ravens have looked fantastic in three of the last four weeks, which came against Carolina (Steve Smith revenge game and terrible defense), Tampa Bay (a joke at times on both sides of the ball) and Atlanta (arguably worst defense in the league and a mediocre offense outside). Do you really believe that the Bengals defense is all of sudden that bad and the Ravens offense is all of a sudden this great? Even without A.J. Green, I’ll absolutely throw out a solid defense against Joe Flacco on the road.

Big favorites. One I like, two I don’t

Patriots – They are -6 at home against the Bears. This is after New England barely escaped the Jets at home. But remember how banged up the Bears are on defense? Plus, now the Patriots have had 10 days to prepare for this game and get their RB and LB situation straightened out? The Patriots DST always has upside and against a QB who can easily throw multi INTs is definitely worthy of a GPP play.

Cowboys – I’m skeptical here. Dallas’ last three outings in terms of FPTS: 5, 4, 4 against the Texans, Seahawks and Giants. Dallas is 29th in sacks at one per game. Ehhhh… I know it’s against Colt McCoy as a 9.5-point favorite, but I’m just not sure here. You have to play them once or twice.

Browns – No stats here. The Browns defense is terrible this year. Cleveland’s record is not even close to how bad they actually are. They have given up a ton of yards and ran well in some odd circumstances against the Saints, Steelers and Titans. Yes, they are -7 at home against the winless Oakland Raiders, but Oakland gets its first win this week and the Johnny Manziel drama starts up again. You can thank me later.

About the Author

Sked Nick is a Daily Fantasy Sports enthusiast and a former Bleacher Report Featured Columnist. Most of his time is dedicated to the sports world in front of several televisions, monitors and a projector. This involves researching, writing, watching games or simply keeping up to date on news.He graduated with honors from Bowling Green State University with a degree in sport management and journalism. Furthermore, Nick was a radio play-by-play and color commentator for Bowling Green football, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball. He also has experience working with the BGSU athletic department.Follow @NickJuskewycz